I recently installed a used Quad 5100i and it's doing a great job heating my house, but the basement is still chilly. I telecommute from down there often and have been using a space heater at my desk to take the chill off. While this is working for me I was thinking about about putting another insert in the fireplace in the basement to take the chill off. I've noticed that there seems to be a number of older Timberline inserts on CL not too far away from me, price seems to vary a lot though, this one just came up:

I'm not sure how I could go wrong for $50 but this guys says this insert doesn't have a blower, did they make these Timberline's without a blower? I've seen other similar Timberlines for sale on CL that stated they did have blowers but they have been more $ and were farther away so I didn't research or look closely.

My plan would be to install this one or something like it in the basement to take the chill off when I'm down there for more than a few hours.....but I wouldn't be installing any kind of chimney liner (the run to the top of the existing masonary chimney is somewhere around 40 feet), simply insulating the fireplace and installing the insert. I realize this wouldn't be the most efficient solution but I believe something like this would be the most cost effective.....or am I missing something? Should I pop for a newer Timberline or something similar that has a blower or is the one above sufficient if I move air? Thanks in advance for any advice.....

Personally, I would not install a slammer, especially in the basement, dumping into a large fireplace flue. My concern would be the risk of reverse draft in mild weather at the end of the burn. The second concern would be creosote build up. 40 ft of chimney will do a lot to cool down the flue in an exterior chimney. The lack of a blower would kill the deal for me. What does electricity cost in your area? It seems a bit dubious whether the investment and wood burned would be less expensive than running an oil-filled radiator on a timer. In the very least get this chimney cleaned and inspected before proceeding.

PE Alderlea T6 - the gentle giant, Jotul 602“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.” - Mark Twain -
"A poor worker always blames his tools." - Dad

Personally, I would not install a slammer, especially in the basement, dumping into a large fireplace flue. My concern would be the risk of reverse draft in mild weather at the end of the burn. The second concern would be creosote build up. 40 ft of chimney will do a lot to cool down the flue in an exterior chimney. The lack of a blower would kill the deal for me. What does electricity cost in your area? It seems a bit dubious whether the investment and wood burned would be less expensive than running an oil-filled radiator on a timer. In the very least get this chimney cleaned and inspected before proceeding.

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+1 . . . not in favor of a slammer install . . . especially in this case.